Maybe I should have learned my lesson by now with the DC films, but I think I'll try and make it to this one. I mean, Wonder Woman was pretty good, right? Thematic inconsistencies regarding the anti-war message aside, anyway.

"Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy." - Lincoln.

Ugh...
Zero interest to see it.
Once again DC is trying to hard at being "Edgy and cool"
They keep trying to copy the things Marvel gets right, and it always comes out wrong...
oh God.. You know who DC is? They are Justin Hammer!
Everything that is Cool about Tony Stark, but done wrong so he comes off as being utterly unlikeable!

Ocean Master and Black Manta could work well if you have Black Manta's dickery adding to Ocean Master's distrust and hatred of the surface so that Aquaman has to go from just punching the bad guy (Manta) to preventing war and taking a leadership role.

The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.

Ocean Master and Black Manta could work well if you have Black Manta's dickery adding to Ocean Master's distrust and hatred of the surface so that Aquaman has to go from just punching the bad guy (Manta) to preventing war and taking a leadership role.

They're an interesting duo, who, of note, appeared together in Black Manta's very first appearance.

The dynamic is somewhat noteworthy in that Orm really wants to be Aquaman's arch enemy, he's pretty much entirely defined against Arthur. Black Manta actually is Aquaman's arch enemy, because even without being an atlantean, he's more ruthless and intelligent.

Arthur gets dissed a lot in the US due to the Superfriends cartoon, which is a nonissue in the rest of the world due to none of us ever having seen it

'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'

Black Manta doesn't have super powers, although he does have great tech. Aquaman isn't as strong as Superman, but can punch hard enough that Supes will feel it. For Black Manta to hold arch nemesis position on a hero that powerful tells you all you need to know about his competency. He's a dick, but very good at being very bad.

The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.

Ok, so no actual Aquaman-as-protagonist stories. That'd explain it. And don't forget- Superfriends had anti-punching rules that stopped them from doing any punching and he has punching people powers.

They didn't even let him throws bears at people!

His appearance in Justice League the animated series might change your mind... they went with the hook-hand take.

There's been several different takes on Aquaman over time. Classic, grizzled bearded-hook-hand (IMO a bit of an overreaction to counter the superfriends vibe, but still, pretty badass), water-hand, rousing-song-of-heroism (from Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In which he's just really into superheroing)....

Aquaman does have a lot of baggage from his Super Friends, talking-to-fish days, which has turned into a lot of memetic mockery over the past... eh... decade-ish? or so. The response to this in his native media has varied somewhat, from grimdark (which Kevin Smith mocked a little bit when he resurrected Green Arrow) to full-on embracing of the cheese (Brave and Bold).

But fundamentally he's a very underestimated superhero, in that a lot of people tend to focus on the mock-able elements (talking to fish, a kinda basic costume, lol mermaids) and forget about the fact that he's also a King of an undersea nation that pretty much controls the oceans, is capable of punching out whales, can travel underwater at several times the speed of sound (I am not kidding), and... can talk to fish. Which includes, you know, stuff like sharks, orca, sperm whales, the occasional giant squid, and a few mythical underwater beasties. Pretty sure they've pulled out a kraken a time or two. Frankly, he should be pretty much near to being on par with Superman, and probably be stronger than Wonder Woman.

They've played with his setting a bit from time to time. On occasion they split the undersea realm into multiple kingdoms (I think that's the current status quo) though Atlantis is usually the strongest/dominant kingdom. Currently there are knockoff Lovecraft-eque Deep Ones too (which you can see in one scene in the trailer). There's the whole controversy about him being half-human and that's pretty much Ocean Master's whole argument for why HE should be King of Atlantis and not Arthur. So plenty of juicy drama potential, and that's without even going over the surface. IIRC Mera is currently from a break-away faction of Atlanteans in the comics, though obviously allied with Arthur.

I do have to say that the dark, dreadlocked look kind of grew on me. It seems to suit Arthur a bit better than the classic surfer-god clean-cut blonde look.

I'm not a big Aquaman fan, but even I know that judging Aquaman on Superfriends is like judging modern Batman on the '60s show.

"Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy." - Lincoln.

Captain Nemo was a great undersea antihero, but Black Manta and Aqua-loser are lame.

Also yes, aristocracy sucks. Whether in space or under the seas.

You do know that Captain Nemo was an Indian Prince, original name of Dakkar, correct....? He's an aristocrat, too.

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.

Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy

Captain Nemo was a great undersea antihero, but Black Manta and Aqua-loser are lame.

Also yes, aristocracy sucks. Whether in space or under the seas.

You do know that Captain Nemo was an Indian Prince, original name of Dakkar, correct....? He's an aristocrat, too.

To follow this rabbit trail, I suppose there's an argument to be made that Nemo renounced his ancestry and privilege when he built the Nautilus and set out on his anti-war campaign against foreign states.

That said, he still lived at a relatively high standard (had a fancy parlor with pipe-organ and cigars even), treasure gathered from the ocean floor, and was unquestionably in command of his ship, though I suppose a military-style hierarchy is a different proposition from class.

Stas' argument is silly though because Black Manta is something of an anarchist when he has any political convictions, and we know Aquaman has much more depth (hah) and nuance than the old shitty cartoons.

Captain Nemo was a great undersea antihero, but Black Manta and Aqua-loser are lame.

Also yes, aristocracy sucks. Whether in space or under the seas.

You do know that Captain Nemo was an Indian Prince, original name of Dakkar, correct....? He's an aristocrat, too.

I know, and I used "antihero" for a reason. Aristocracy sucks, but princess Leia is a solid character in the SW films, even a great one maybe. On the other hand, Jupiter Ascending or whatever... is not.